Moving Expenses
Moving Expenses
General
You can deduct eligible moving expenses if you moved from an old residence to a new residence to:
- Be closer to a work location, or
- Carry on a business or
- Attend classes at a post-secondary education
To qualify, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer to the new place of work or educational institution.
- The maximum amount you can deduct is limited to employment income, business income, and scholarships from the new location.
- Unused moving expenses (if you don’t have enough employment income/scholarship income) can be carried forward indefinitely
Moving Expenses Eligible for Deduction
- Travel Expenses
- Vehicle expenses, meals, and accommodation, to move you and members of your household to your new residence.
- You can choose to use a simplified method of a flat rate of $17/meal, to a maximum of $51/day per person and $0.57 per km in Ontario
- If you use the detailed method; you claim the actual costs but need to keep receipts of purchases to support amount
- Costs of Moving your stuff
- Packing, hauling, moving, in-transit storage, and insurance
- Meals and temporary accommodation (place to stay near old or new location) for you and the members of your household for a maximum of 15 days
- Can use Detailed method (actual costs supported by receipts) or simplified method (same rates as above)
- The cost to cancel the lease on your old residence
- The cost to sell the old home (you can deduct regardless of if you buy a new home or not)
- Advertising
- Legal fees
- Real-estate commissions
- Mortgage penalty incurred due to paying off a mortgage before maturity
- Costs incurred to buy a new home: If you sold or are trying to sell your old home and purchased a new home, you can deduct the following:
- Legal fees
- Land transfer tax
- The cost to maintain your old residence (maximum of $5,000)
- If your old property has not yet been sold, and it remains vacant after your move; as long as you made reasonable efforts to sell the home you can claim the following for a total maximum of $5000.
- interest;
- property taxes;
- insurance premiums; and
- heat and utility expenses.
- If your old property has not yet been sold, and it remains vacant after your move; as long as you made reasonable efforts to sell the home you can claim the following for a total maximum of $5000.
- Other expenses:
- Changing address on legal documents (driver’s licence/health card)
- Replacing driver’s licence
- Utility connections/disconnections
Moving Expenses Not Eligible for Deduction
- Travel expenses for house-hunting trips before you move;
- Loss from sale of old home
- Meals/accommodation > 15 days
- Cost of forwarding mail (for example with Canada post)
- Legal fees, land transfer tax incurred while buying a new home CANNOT be deducted if you didn’t own a house prior
- utilities, property tax and mortgage interest charges > $5000; if you made reasonable efforts to sell old home